Galaxy StoreApplication · Samsung

CVE-2023-21515

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.5.49.8 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
InstantPlay which included vulnerable script which could execute javascript in Galaxy Store prior to version 4.5.49.8 allows attackers to execute javascript API to install APK from Galaxy Store.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A vulnerability in Samsung Galaxy Store's InstantPlay feature allows attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code, potentially enabling unauthorized APK installations, due to insufficient validation in the InstantPlay script prior to version 4.5.49.8.

MitigationUpdate Galaxy Store to version 4.5.49.8 or later to patch the vulnerable InstantPlay component.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Galaxy StoreApplication
Affected:< 4.5.49.8

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Galaxy Store is installed
    Navigate to Settings > Apps on your Samsung Android device and locate Galaxy Store, or use ADB command: adb shell pm list packages | grep samsungapps
    Affected if Galaxy Store app is present on the device
  2. Determine installed Galaxy Store version
    In Settings > Apps > Galaxy Store, tap on App info to view the version number, or use ADB: adb shell dumpsys package com.sec.android.app.samsungapps | grep versionName
    Affected if Version shown is below 4.5.49.8
  3. Verify InstantPlay feature status
    Open Galaxy Store app, go to Settings or Menu options to find InstantPlay or Instant Play settings, and confirm whether the feature is enabled or toggled on
    Affected if InstantPlay feature is currently enabled in the app settings

You are affected if Galaxy Store version is lower than 4.5.49.8 AND the InstantPlay feature is enabled on your device

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.5.49.8 or later
Fixed in 4.5.49.8
Interim mitigation

Update Galaxy Store to version 4.5.49.8 or later to patch the vulnerable InstantPlay component.

Recommended fix High confidence

Galaxy Store version 4.5.49.8 or later

  1. Open the Galaxy Store app on your Samsung device
  2. Navigate to the Menu or Settings section
  3. Tap on 'Settings' or 'About Galaxy Store'
  4. Check for updates or verify the current app version
  5. Update Galaxy Store to version 4.5.49.8 or higher if an update is available
  6. If automatic updates are enabled, ensure automatic updates are allowed to run

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Galaxy Store Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21515 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-21515 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data